Journalist Helen Thomas was a legend

A pioneer for women in journalism, Helen Thomas died at the age of 92.

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 1971, file photo, President Richard Nixon laughs with UPI reporter Helen Thomas, left, and AP reporter Douglas Cornell during an impromptu reception in Washington. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died Saturday, July 20, 2013. She was 92. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 1971, file photo first lady Pat Nixon motions to Helen Thomas, left, and Douglas B. Cornell to join her on a platform at a White House reception. Thomas, the irrepressible White House correspondent who scooped so many, was herself scooped by the first lady who announced their engagement near the end of the impromptu reception. Thomas, who used her seat in the front row of history to grill nine presidents and was not shy about sharing her opinions, died Saturday, July 20, 2013. She was 92. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2006, file photo veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas, left, is assisted by CBS television sound technician Eric Washington, right, to to take her personal name plate off of her front and center assigned seat in the press briefing room in the West Wing of the White House prior to the briefing room's renovation. Covering 10 presidents over five decades, Thomas aged into a legend. She was the only reporter with her name inscribed on a chair in the White House briefing room, her own front row seat to history. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this July 11, 2007, file photo veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas, center, from Hearst Newspapers, sits in her assigned center, front row seat before the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the renovated James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - In this April 13, 1981, file photo, President Ronald Reagan greets UPI reporter Helen Thomas, center, and AP reporter Jim Gerstenzang, right, before an interview in the Treaty Room of the White House in Washington. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died Saturday, July 20, 2013. She was 92. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2009, file photo veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas listens as White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answers her question during his daily press briefing in Washington. Thomas, the irrepressible White House correspondent who used her center, front row seat of history to grill 10 presidents, died Saturday, July 20, 2013, at the age of 92. She pushed open the doors for women at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, when at her urging, President John F. Kennedy refused to attend the 1962 dinner unless it was open to women for the first time. Thomas fought, too, for a more open presidency, resisting all moves by a succession of administrations to restrict press access. "People will never know how hard it is to get information," she told an interviewer, "especially if it's locked up behind official doors where, if politicians had their way, they'd stamp TOP SECRET on the color of the walls." (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 4, 1995, file photo, President Clinton "interviews" UPI White House correspondent Helen Thomas in the White House briefing room in Washington. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died Saturday, July 20, 2013. She was 92. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2008 file photo veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas is helped to her front row seat in the White House Brady Press Briefing Room in Washington, as she returns after a recent illness. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. She made her name as a bulldog for United Press International in the great wire-service rivalries of old. Thomas used her seat in the front row of history to grill nine presidents _ often to their discomfort and was not shy about sharing her opinions. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2009, file photo, veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas, left, celebrates her 89th birthday with President Barack Obama, celebrating his 48th birthday, in the White House Press Briefing Room in Washington. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died Saturday, July 20, 2013. She was 92. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2006, file photo, President Bush, right, greets veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas during the final briefing in the press briefing room in the West Wing of the White House in Washington before its renovation. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died Saturday, July 20, 2013. She was 92. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - In this Oct, 25, 2006 file photo, Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas arrives early and waits for a presidential event in the East Room of the White House. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. Thomas made her name as a bulldog for United Press International in the great wire-service rivalries of old. She used her seat in the front row of history to grill nine presidents _ often to their discomfort and was not shy about sharing her opinions. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

In this photo taken Oct. 16, 2007, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas smiles as she leaves the White House after attending a briefing. Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism and an irrepressible White House correspondent, has died. She was 92. A friend said Thomas died at her apartment in Washington on Saturday morning. Thomas made her name as a bulldog for United Press International in the great wire-service rivalries of old. She used her seat in the front row of history to grill nine presidents _ often to their discomfort and was not shy about sharing her opinions. She was persistent to the point of badgering; one White House press secretary described her questioning as "torture" _ and he was one of her fans. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)